Mario gives up over £340k fine! Balotelli backs off to salvage Manchester City career

Mario Balotelli backed down from his fight with Manchester City in a bid to save his career with the Barclays Premier League champions.

City were due to meet with their errant striker at a Premier League tribunal on Wednesday after he contested a fine of two weeks wages imposed for accumulating too many red and yellow cards at the end of last season.

However, after talks between Balotelli's lawyers and City officials on Tuesday night and on Wednesday morning, the 22-year-old agreed to drop the action and pay the fine.

All quiet: Roberto Mancini did not have Mario Balotelli at training as the striker is struggling with illness

His agent Mino Raiola said: 'Mario is
committed to City. He doesn't want to leave the club. He's always
wanted to stay and this case hasn't changed this.'

City imposed the sanction at the end
of last season after working out that Balotelli had missed 20 per cent
of his team's games through suspension.

However, Balotelli was informed by
his legal team that there is no provision in guidelines drawn up by the
Premier League and the players' union, the PFA, for that kind of fine.

So he appealed to an internal panel at City and, after losing that, chose to take his case to the Premier League.

But it is understood that the forward
agreed to drop his action after it was explained to him that a public
row would prove an obstacle to him getting back into City's first team,
or finding a new club.

A City statement said: 'After
amicable talks... as a sign of respect for Roberto Mancini, the
supporters and the club, Mario Balotelli has chosen to accept a two-week
fine levied upon him by the club and withdraw his disciplinary appeal.
Mario remains available for selection for all forthcoming fixtures.'

City, for their part, were told by
the PFA and the Premier League they have not handled the affair
particularly well. Clubs, they were told, are perfectly within their
rights to fine players for acts of dissent or violent conduct, but
cannot suddenly decide to impose punishments at the end of the season.

Big hit: Manchester City striker Balotelli has accepted a fine of £340,000

With a two-man panel - including a QC
- having spent days preparing to hear the case, City and Balotelli were
also both told to share the costs of the case. Balotelli now faces a
struggle to get back into Mancini's team, despite Raiola's comments.

Having been left out of the squad for
last weekend's win at Newcastle because of a lack of fitness, Balotelli
has subsequently spent Tuesday and yesterday in bed with a virus and
has very little chance of being involved at all against Reading in the
Premier League on Saturday.

Why always him? Balotelli landed in trouble over his poor discipline last season